This may be the William Hunt who founded the company with the same name in Tianjin in the 1920s or 30s and which moved down to Hong Kong after 1949. The firm of William Hunt had close ties to the KMT government and did well from tea exports to the USA. The company was still active in Hong Kong into the 1980s (particularly selling construction machinery), in fact I worked there for a couple of years, but I believe it no longer exists.
"Aboard what proved the last passenger regular plane from Chungking to Hong Kong was William Hunt, prominent American Far Eastern businessman, who was on his way back to the United States after a brief trip to China's wartime capital. Hunt arrived in Hong Kong on December 6 and was there waiting to catch a clipper when the Japanese attacked the colony two days later."
Comments
William Hunt
This may be the William Hunt who founded the company with the same name in Tianjin in the 1920s or 30s and which moved down to Hong Kong after 1949. The firm of William Hunt had close ties to the KMT government and did well from tea exports to the USA. The company was still active in Hong Kong into the 1980s (particularly selling construction machinery), in fact I worked there for a couple of years, but I believe it no longer exists.
William Hunt
I don't see him in the 1940 Jurors List.
Tony Banham lists him as:
Hunt, W.P. 40, US, Company Dir. 114 The Peak TKH
The Companies Registry lists seven companies that include "William Hunt" in the name, see https://www.icris.cr.gov.hk/csci/search_company_name.do:
William P. Hunt
"Aboard what proved the last passenger regular plane from Chungking to Hong Kong was William Hunt, prominent American Far Eastern businessman, who was on his way back to the United States after a brief trip to China's wartime capital. Hunt arrived in Hong Kong on December 6 and was there waiting to catch a clipper when the Japanese attacked the colony two days later."
(Hunt is on the Gripsholm passenger list in the first prisoner exchange in 1942. He travelled on the Conte Verde from Shanghai to Lourenço Marques. See https://www.adst.org/OH%20TOCs/Hunt,%20Frederick.toc.pdf )
Source
1. The Evening Star, Washington D.C. dated 1 January 1942. See here
2. William Peter Hunt — Unknown Tycoon in China: https://medium.com/@eric.rodenburg/william-peter-hunt-unknown-tycoon-in-china-d10b7d6a22d6
3. New York Times dated 18 April 1966. See here . Died 16 April 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut